Underneath Her Beautiful Smile
by h i s. s u m m e r. l o v e
Summary: Vanessa always knew that keeping secrets was never easy- especially when the secrets were as big as hers. Will anyone ever discover what she’s hiding beneath her beautiful smile? Eventual Zanessa. Enjoy!
1. Introduction

Underneath Her Beautiful Smile

Summary: Vanessa always knew that keeping secrets was never easy- especially when the secrets were as big as hers. Will anyone ever discover what she's hiding beneath her beautiful smile? 

A/N: This story is very different from any other story I've ever written, so be prepared! Vanessa deals with angst, abuse and other difficult situations, and it may or may not have a happy ending. I might lead it one direction and change it at the last minute in an attempt keep you on the edge of your seats throughout the story. It will range anywhere from ten to thirty chapters, depending on the reviews. So if you want thirty chapters, tell people to read and review it. (: Simple enough, right? On to the introduction, in which you will find out the first of Vanessa's three secrets. 

Introduction:

"Mommy?" a small voice called out from the darkness of the hallway. "Mommy, I'm scared of the dark."

Vanessa Hudgens rolled over in her bed and turned on the lamp that sat on the bedside table.

"Turn that light off," a grumpy voice mumbled from behind her. "Who the fuck is interrupting my sleep at this hour of the night anyway?"

"Oh, for goodness sake, Joey, it's Sophie. She's scared of the dark, remember? All she wants is to come in here with us," Vanessa whispered to her half-drunken lawyer of a boyfriend. To her daughter, she said, "Come on, sweetie, come in here with us."

Sophie walked shyly into the room and climbed up into the bed next to her mother. Vanessa pulled her close, allowing her to nestle up into the warmth of the blankets. She stroked her daughter's soft blonde curls, each stroke making her feel guiltier than the stroke before.

"Goodnight, Mommy. Goodnight, Daddy," Sophie quipped before burying her head into her mother's chest. "I love you."

"Goodnight, Sophie," Vanessa replied. "I love you, too." She reached over and turned off the light, the room growing dark.

No reply came from Joey, who had already fallen asleep once more. "Daddy?" Sophie's tiny voice echoed throughout the room. Nothing. "Mommy? Why doesn't Daddy love me?"

Vanessa felt warm tears falling down her cheeks. _Because, Sophie, he's not your father_, she thought to herself. Before allowing a deep slumber to come over her, she let one sentence escape her lips in a whisper. _Zac_ _is._

I know how short it was, but that's why it's called an Introduction. It's supposed to be short! lol. Interested in reading more? Then please review! Chapter One is written and is waiting to be added! Thanks for reading!


	2. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Okay, I just realized that some of you couldn't review the chapter I replaced the author note with because you already reviewed for that chapter. Sorry about that! So chapter one is moving to chapter three's spot now and I have replaced the old author note with this one. So go on to chapter one already! lol.


	3. Chapter One

Sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've just been really really busy getting ready to graduate from high school! Yay! Am I forgiven?

Here's chapter one! Enjoy!

Chapter One:

Morning came too soon for Vanessa. Sunlight poured into the room, and her four year old daughter stirred beside her. "Mommy, wake up," Sophie whispered. "Daddy left again. And he left us a note. What does it say?"

Vanessa's eyes fluttered open and she blinked before focusing her eyesight on the note that her daughter was fluttering about the air. "Let me see, sweetie," she said, taking it into her dainty hand and beginning to read.

_Nessa & Sophie, _

_I have a case in New York this weekend, and I had to leave early. I'm sorry I was such an asshole to you both last night, and I promise that I'll make it up to you when I come home. Check out the box on the kitchen cupboard for a surprise early birthday present for my beautiful girls. I love you both. _

_Joey/Daddy_

Vanessa sighed. Having a boyfriend who was a famous lawyer wasn't easy. In fact, dating Zac Efron had been easier. Tears formed in her eyes. She and Zac had decided to take a break four years ago, but had never re-kindled their relationship. Heck, for all she knew, he was probably married now.

"Mommy, why are you crying? Daddy's coming home soon, remember?" Sophie asked.

Vanessa nodded and smiled at her daughter. "I remember, sweetie. Mommy's just a little emotional right now because of the baby."

Sophie tapped on her mother's tiny stomach. "Baby, stop making Mommy sad. You're making her cry."

Vanessa rested her hand on her three month pregnant stomach and nodded. "You what else the baby is doing?" she asked her daughter. Sophie looked up at her expectantly. "He or she is making Mommy very hungry. Shall we go to Paty's for breakfast?"

Sophie's big blue eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, yes!" she exclaimed. Paty's was her favorite restaurant, and breakfast was her favorite meal- they always made her some smiley face pancakes with bacon and orange-strawberry-banana juice on the side.

"Well, then, I suggest that you get dressed and meet Mommy downstairs in ten minutes, okay?" Vanessa replied.

Sophie nodded and ran off down the hallway to her room, where she proceeded to put on her favorite dress. She looked up into her closet behind where the dress had been and saw her High School Musical t-shirt and skirt set. It had been almost a year since she'd worn it, and her eyes lit up. On the front of the shirt was her mother, along with her "Uncles" Zac, Corbin and Lucas and her "Aunties" Ashley and Monique. She quickly pulled it out of the closet and changed into it. Running down the hallway, she cried out, "Mommy! Mommy! Look what I'm wearing!"

Vanessa came into view from downstairs, and she smiled when she saw her daughter. "Sophie, you look very pretty. Are you ready to go?"

Sophie nodded and bounded down the stairs. On their way out the door, the small package on the counter caught her eye and she ran to get it. "Mommy, open this present from Daddy! He said it was for our birthdays next week."

Vanessa sighed. She and her daughter shared their birthday, December 14th. Although she loved having double celebrations, they were hard to surprise with the same gift because of the age difference. Last year, Joey had gotten them both diamond earrings, thinking more of Vanessa than of Sophie while picking them out and not even remembering that Sophie hadn't had her ears pierced yet then. And the year before that he had gotten them both teddy bears, and Sophie had ended up with both of them because Vanessa had pointed out that she already had a special bear.

Taking the present in her hands, she quickly untied the rainbow-colored bow and handed it to Sophie. "Here, sweetie, put this around your bear's neck. She'll look very pretty with it."

Sophie gently stuffed the ribbon into her pocket for safekeeping. "Open the box Mommy."

Vanessa lifted the lid off of the box and pulled out three airplane tickets. They were round-trip tickets from Los Angeles to Orlando. Underneath the tickets were brochures for Disney World and a note.

"Daddy's taking us to Disney World!" Sophie exclaimed. "Isn't that what the present is, Mommy? Disney?"

Vanessa nodded. "Yes, baby, he's taking us to Disney World," she replied. Tears welled up in her eyes. It definitely wasn't anything she'd expected, but it was more than either of them would be able to expect from Joey. Usually he would tell Sophie that he wouldn't take her to Disney because it was too babyish for him and that it was "just a silly little theme park where kids ran around like wild animals hoping to meet some guy in a dumb mouse suit". What he'd said hadn't changed Sophie's views of Disney World, and she still longed to go there. Now her dream was going to come true.

"Yay!" Sophie exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot of Paty's. "Do you think Daddy will let me ride Dumbo?"

"I'm sure he will, sweetie," Vanessa assured her. She held her hand out. "Shall we?"

Sophie took her mother's hand and pulled her towards the door to Paty's. As soon as they walked inside and Vanessa looked around to find a waitress to seat them, Sophie squealed and pointed to a table at the back. "Mommy, look, there's Uncle Corbin! Uncle Corbin! Uncle Corbin!" she called to him. "Hey, Uncle Corbin, over here!" she continued.

Corbin looked around for a minute before his eyes landed on his best friend and her daughter. "Hey, girls!" he greeted them. "Come on over here and sit with me," he added. He scooted over, and Sophie scrambled up into the seat beside him. Vanessa sat across from them, and before long, they were eating.

"So V, how's it going? How are you and Joey?" Corbin asked. Their eyes met, and he could see her eyes cloud over.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Corbin," she replied. She wiped a tear from her eye and tried to pretend that it was an eyelash.

Corbin sighed. "You miss him, don't you?" he asked. Vanessa stared at him for a moment, knowing very well that he wasn't talking about Joey. He was referring to Zac.

"No…I mean yes, but…we…we're done. That's it. He's probably married by now anyway," she said quietly as Sophie chatted it up with the little girl at the table behind them.

"He's not," Corbin said, a little too eagerly. "I- I mean I'm pretty sure he's waiting for you."

"He doesn't need to wait for me. I'm practically engaged to Joey. Besides, I have Sophie and…I haven't told anyone else yet, but I'm pregnant again. Even if Joey and I broke up, he wouldn't want me and my ex's kids."

"Vanessa," Corbin stated. "Sophie's not Joey's daughter. She's Zac's. Am I right?"

Sweat formed on Vanessa's forehead and she swallowed hard before saying, "How did you know?"

"Come on, V, she looks exactly like him. Anyone could see that."

"Anyone except Zac," she mumbled. "And he's the most important."


End file.
